>>1755507I'm hardly a veteran here, I'm just starting my rescue diver course but I've done around 40 dives.
>what's scuba culture like?Mostly pretty chill, there's a lot of drinking and bro culture which is quite comfy but I actually prefer the kind of untra-prepared, cautious, methodical dive types. I find I have a lot more fun in the water with them.
Seek out good dive buddies that share your interests and styles. I don't like super deep dives for the sake of it, and the worst I've felt is when I was with someone who felt like he was pushing it as a kind of badge of honor.
I like fish, wreck and night diving. I like the feeling of being somewhere alien and exclusive.
>good priceEntirely depends where you are, I am based in Hong Kong and I think training is reasonably priced here ($200-300 US).
I don't hoard gear because I like to travel to dive. I've got fins, mask, computer, knife, and 2 wetsuits I like (but I often don't take them abroad).
Mask + snorkel is first, spend $50 and that's fine for a while, I spent $100 on a decent pair of split fins. The computer was $250, I forget how much the knife was, but it's been a great investment because I have a group that gets rid of ghost nets. A lot of people swear you have to buy a regulator but I never saw the point.
